Devotional Poetry for the Children

I’ve slept till morning light.

Then let me give Thee thanks and praise,
For Thou art very good;
Oh, teach my little heart to raise
The prayer that children should.

Keep me this day from faults and sin,
And make me good and mild;
Thy Holy Spirit place within,
Grant grace unto a child.

Help me obey my parents dear,
For they are very kind;
And when the hour of rest draws near,
Another prayer I’ll find.

EVENING

The day is gone, – the silent night
Invites me to my peaceful bed;
But, Lord, I know that it is right
To thank Thee, ere I rest my head.

For my good meals and pleasant hours,
That I have had this present day,
Let me exert my infant powers
To praise Thee, nor forget to pray.

Thou art most good. I can’t tell all
That Thou hast ever done for me;
My Shepherd, now on Thee I call,
From dangers still preserve me free.

If I’ve been naughty on this day,
Oh! make me sorry for my fault;
Do Thou forgive, and teach the way
To follow Jesus as I ought.

And now I’ll lay me down to rest,
Myself, – my friends, – all safely keep;
May Thy great name be ever blest,
Both when we wake, and when we sleep.

A MOMENT TOO LATE!

A moment too late, my beautiful bird, —
A moment too late are you now,
The wind has your soft, downy nest disturbed, —
The nest that you hung on the bough.
A moment too late, – that string in your bill
Would have fastened it firmly and strong;
But see, there it goes rolling over the hill!
Oh! you tarried a moment too long.

A moment too late, – too late, busy bee,
The honey has dropped from the flower;
No use to creep under the petals to see, —
It stood ready to drop for an hour.
A moment too late, – had you sped on your wing,
The honey would not have been gone;
But see what a very, – a very sad thing,
’Tis to tarry a moment too long.

A LITTLE SONNET ABOUT LITTLE THINGS

The little, smoky vapors
Produce the drops of rain;
These little drops commingle,
And form the boundless main.

Then, drops compose the fountains;
And little grains of sand
Compose the mighty mountains,
That high above us stand.

The little atoms, it is said,
Compose the solid earth;
Such truths will show, if rightly read,
What little things are worth.

For, as the sea of drops is made,
So it is Heaven’s plan,
That atoms should compose the globe,
And actions mark the man.

The little seconds soon pass by,
And leave our time the less;
And on these moments, as they fly,
Hang woe or happiness.

For, as the present hour is spent,
So must the future be;
Each action lives, in its effect,
Through all eternity.

The little sins and follies,
That lead the soul astray,
Leave stains, that tears of penitence,
May never wash away.